Hi Chris, There are some very nice areas in Gloucester County area, Washington Township ,Deptford, Mullica Hill, Mantua , just to name a few. All with their own unique qualities and most have their own school systems. Gloucester County also has some of the nicest small towns as well. There is a wide verity of single family homes ,town homes and condos. If you are looking for open spaces there is also lot's of home that are not in a development. Gloucester County has a lot of open space as you get to the Mullica Hill area were you have the old town feel with shops and restaurants on Rt45 and Rt 77. The varity of homes in this area run the gamete of old farm home to the newest of homes as well. If you need info on any school system in NJ, feel free to visit my web site and search for the report cards on the local schools. I hope you found this helpful as I enjoy living and working in Gloucester County for many years,... more

Correct pricing is the most important part of selling a home and getting the highest possible number for that property. I believe that if there are no showings within the first two weeks of a house being listed quickly drop the price. If there are no offers within the next two weeks adjust the price again. Sellers may say they are not in a rush to sell but "days on market" is key to getting the most they can for their home. Advise them not to list until they are ready to sell and get it done quickly.... more

What you can do, after you move in is take out a second mortgage or home equity on the remaining equity that you have in the property. If you are buying a house for 50k and it appraised for 100k, you immediately have 50k in equity. That is 50k you can borrow on once you settle on the property.... more

Typically for a FHA loan you would need to put down 3.5%. For a conventional mortgage, minimum would be 5%. When it comes time, you can also ask the seller to pay for some of you closing costs, and that may help a little. You can ask for up to 6% back. That would give you more money to put towards your down payment.... more

Any Realtor will be able to give you the addresses you are looking for. The key is to find a Realtor that you trust and want to work with. At that point it would be important to meet with your Realtor to discuss your needs, your wants and your purchasing power. Having a good rapport with your Realtor is very important. I live in Gloucester County and have been serving the community for over 20 years. Feel free to contact me, I would be happy to meet with you and get the process started!

FHA will not lend above the determined value. If the appaisal comes in above the agreed price then you've lucked out and FHA will lend you the money. If the appraisal is lower than the agreed amount then FHA will not approve the mortgage. You'll have to ask the seller to lower the price to the appraised value. It's in the seller's best interest to do so if they truly want to sell. Otherwise, future buyers for that property will find themselves in the same position.... more

If your timeline is a year out, my suggestion is to focus on saving that money for a down payment and getting your credit in good shape for the scrutiny that will come when it is time for the mortgage preapproval. A free Buyer Consultation is a great idea - and it will provide a good introduction to the process of buying a home. It will also provide an opportunity to meet with a real estate agent and very likely a mortgage pro as they often piggyback to provide additional expertise. Introductions to these important resources can really occur in parallel - and you may well find that whomever you start with will have a recommendation for the other.

The Real Estate Agent will provide info on the process, the market overall, and the local market you are interested in. The Mortgage Rep will give you feedback on your credit situation and what you can afford, plus help you develop a game plan to get where you'd like to be in a year.

As for the Buyer Consulation, worry not about getting that for free - it should always be free - what I encourage you to do is if you are pleased with the Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Rep that help you now, reward them with your loyalty.

Good luck to you!
Jeanne Feenick
Unwavering Commitment to Service, Unsurpassed Results... more

I agree with Ian, you most certainly need to speak with a real estate professional in the Memphis area that specializes in short sales. It would also be a good idea to speak with an attorney who deals with short sales because you will need a good negotiator on your side that will negotiate on your behalf with the bank so that you are NOT billed for the amount you are short in the sale. This amount is not forgiven in all instances.... more

90% is the limit for conventinal/conforming loans. Many mortgage insurance companies will only allow the lender to go to 85% if they consider the area a declining market.

Is your condo FHA approved? If it's not, you can still do FHA loans on non-approved condos until February of 2010, as HUD has extended the Spot Check deadline again.

If the best option does end up being FHA and your condo is NOT FHA approved, I would look for a lender right away. HUD was generous enough to extend the deadline several times but I definitely don't expect another extension after February.... more

These new and creative ways should already be employed by real estate agents embracing participation on the internet.

Their are a number of sites on the internet that will populate information about your home. For an additional fee agents can receive additional "data" but - let's face it - a buyer seeing the basic features on sites like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc - will want to see you home and purchase it if it is aggressively priced, show well (staging) and is east to see.

If you are a FSBO is this market well - good luck. (And I don't mean that to be fresh.) Just keep it simple - get ahead of the curve and give buyers what they want..... VALUE.